When I first started pinning butterflies in June (you can see my how to pin butterflies post here), I was well-aware that this was going to be a slow-going hobby for me. I only ever pin bugs that have been found dead, and I think we all know how rare it is to find a beautiful dead butterfly in the wild.
All the Redditors can defend their bug-catching methods all they want, but I’ll never be okay with catching and killing a bug for the sole purpose of owning its beauty. Imagine you’re enjoying your life one day, out in the big wide world, and a giant alien sees you, thinks you’re pretty, scoops you up, and sticks you in their freezer, just so that they can pin you in a box.
Y’all, that’s insane, and there’s not one ounce of me that approves of that selfish barbarianism ☝🏼🤨
the colors and pattern on the Ornate Tiger moth’s wings (bottom left) are pretty crazy
So anyway, I had accepted that this hobby would be small and just one of those every-once-in-a-while things. I was over the moon when I happened to find a random damselfly and a dragonfly to add to my slow-growing collection 🦋
But cue becoming friends with a guy who owns an organic vegetable farm, and is more than willing to collect every dead bug he comes across for me.
Quite unexpectedly, my small collection has grown incredibly quickly.
the size of this Tiger Swallowtail is truly unbelievable — I thought that my Spicebush Swallowtail was a big butterfly!!
Seeing all of these moths, butterflies, bees, and other bugs that I never even knew lived around here (never in my life have I seen a Ornate Tiger Moth — or any of its subspecies!) has been awesome, and learning to pin has been a lot of fun. Not to say that it hasn’t also been a tiny bit stressful at times when I’m working with a particularly special, or delicate, specimen…but that’s all part of the process.
Riley Mae has identified most of the bugs with her Seek app, and most of them have been native (which is quite incredible).
a collection of individuals; the green June bug (bottom right) is currently the only beetle in my collection
I think we can all agree that the massive Tiger Swallowtail is the real showstopper here, but I also really adore the tiny butterflies.
When they’re alive and well, they flit around so much that you never truly get to appreciate all their tiny delicate details, so I’ve really loved getting to see their colors and patterns up close.
They’re incredibly dainty and beautiful!
(top) a Pearl Crescent butterfly; (bottom right) my tiniest butterfly (I believe it’s a Least Skipper) is just a bit bigger than my thumb nail
Not gonna lie, I really enjoy the fact that when anyone walks into my room they’re first greeted with light pink walls, before they realize that the very-intentional décor is 90% skulls and dead bugs.
And of course this fun new hobby has already gotten me thinking about some Christmas gifts for the fam, so there’ll be some new projects featured on my blog in the new year… 🤫
(and yes, I did do a fit check YouTube short in this outfit because it was so good)
every time I add a new bug to the box I have to rearrange a bit, but I think a can squeeze a couple more in before I have to start on my second shadowbox
art by jordan rae 